How liberal is Austin?

As the old metaphor goes, Austin’s a blueberry in the tomato soup of Texas. Conventional wisdom says the state capital is an outlier of liberalism in a state that’s largely more conservative. Is there research to back that up?

The Economist, citing data from an American Political Science Review study, posted a chart earlier this week mapping the political persuasions of large American cities. The study considered policy preferences of populations larger than 250,000 people, resulting in a graph that shows a decidely leftward tilt for the nation’s biggest municipalities. Of the cities represented on the chart, Austin lands in the 14th most liberal spot, behind names like New York, Chicago and Boston. (The cities furthest to the left? San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.)

The study cited by the Economist (read it here, should you care to sift through 85 pages of academic text) also breaks down policy preferences for only cities in Texas. Not surprisingly, Austin is classified as the most liberal in the state, with Dallas and Houston placing noticeably more toward the center of the chart. Of the Texas cities plotted, Amarillo lands farthest right. (Because we’re nice: This chart’s on page 55 of the study.)

Read through the study to find out more about the methodology behind the chart. Or if you don’t have time, this scene from Richard Linklater’s “Bernie” will give you the condensed version.